Pre-contact Maori whalebone club

[Ron Anderson]

Thanks for your responses, everyone.

Sorry to get back so late, but the time difference means I sleep while you work, and vice versa.

I'll take measurements of the item and post them, hopefully today.

I agree it isn't likely to be Maori but I really don't want to infuse the debate with my quite uninformed conjectures. I was surprised by the NW America connection but the form of the club is quite strikingly similar to those examples. All I can say is my club is better artwork than those shown here. However, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you are right Tim.

The collection it came from included a lot of stuff from NW America, predominantly innuit. Some amazing fossik, walrus ivory sculpture and implements. Same truly outstanding stuff.

So that is entirely possible.

For me, this thing resembles the Easter Island heads, which may mean nothing.

It's worth noting when handing this club that it feels well balanced. It is weighty and substantial.

The collection it came from really was an exceptional collection of ethnographic artefacts. It came from an American - Lillian Hoffman who lived in Australia. Famously eccentric collector with a philanthropic bent who was planning on setting up a museum at one point to house her collection> It seems she collected from around the world.

I don't think this came from a sailor because she was in the habit of buying artefacts, sometimes at high prices, with the intention of preserving the cultures she was buying from, and supporting the arts in those cultures. She was conspicuously wealthy.

The auctioneer didn't know much about the club and called it Maori. I'm fairly certain he was unsure about the item. The age of it of course was indisputable. It kind of looked Maori. And it was one of hundreds of items he had to identify after her death.

We had a chat. He didn't know what the club was. But I think it's an exceptional one, whatever it is. I think this is an authentic piece of something.

[VANDOO]

I HAD MISPLACED SOME PICTURES OF THESE CLUBS BUT FOUND THEM IN A OLD POST BY RUEL 7/21/2004 "ETHNO WEAPONS IN SCOTLAND PART 2" THE CLUB UNDER GLASS IN THE DISPLAY TABLE IS FROM THE HUNTERIAN MUSEUM GLASGOW UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, TAKEN BY RUEL. THE OTHERS ARE ONES FROM AN OLD BOOK AND SOME WERE COLLECTED BY CAPTIAN COOK SO THEY DO GO BACK BEFORE RECORDED HISTORY ON THE N.W. COAST OF NORTH AMERICA.

[Ron Anderson]

Hi Vandoo

Thanks, that's extremely helpful.

I am strongly convinced of the case that this is a North West American, Nootka Sounds or somesuch, piece. Very old.

Look at the second club in the second picture you're just sent. Note the concentric circles that mirror the ones on my club.

I must say, it's a surprise. But I can't say I'm unhappy with that outcome. Though I'm still looking for some good Maori clubs.

I have to say, I had doubts all along about this being Maori.

The other thing strongly indicating its origins is the fact that there were so many other NW American items on auction. There were no Maori items, and the only other clubs were 3 Fijian wooden clubs. And I bought those too.

I'd like to ask this question: are you sure these were cut by metal tools? I have marine ivory tools, innuit, from this region (bought at the same auction incidentally) that I'm pretty sure could do this job just as precisely as metal tools. These are strong, hardy, precise instruments. In fact, in that part of the world marine ivory frequently replaced metal in kitchen utensils and the like. And I think still does to some extent. The tools I have include bow drills and other such tools, entirely made out of walrus ivory, and they are very, very strong indeed.

Will post pictures of these tools soon.

Regards
Ron

[VANDOO]

I SEE NO REASON IRON TOOLS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CARVE THESE WHALE BONE CLUBS. THE N.W. COAST AND IN NEW ZEALAND BOTH HAVE PLENTY OF GOOD STONE AVAILABLE FOR CARVING AND THERE ARE MANY VERY WELL CARVED PICES OF ART THAT ARE ALL PRECONTACT. THE ONES BROUGHT BACK BY CAPTIAN COOK WERE ALL PRECONTACT EXAMPLES. UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE THE BOOK AND ONLY THE PICTURES SO CAN'T POINT OUT WHICH EXAMPLES WERE COOK'S. THEY MAKE SOME REMARKABLE IVORY CARVINGS AND TOOLS USING STONE TOOLS AND IVORY IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO WORK THAN BONE. THE CLUB YOU HAVE MAY HAVE LAIN BURRIED AT AN OLD CAMP JUDGING FROM THE PICTURES OF THE PATINA.
THE LOW ISLANDS WHERE GOOD MATERIALS ESPECIALLY GOOD HARD STONE WERE LIMITED TO SHELL, BONE, TEETH, WOOD AND SHARKSKIN. THEIR ART WAS LIMITED BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF MATERIALS AND GOOD TOOLS. OFTEN THEIR ART CHANGED AND BECAME BETTER AND MORE COMMON AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF STEEL TOOLS. MANY LIMITATIONS WERE REMOVED, AS THEIR TOOLS HAD BEEN SO POOR AND LABOR INTENSIVE. NEW TECKNIQUES DEVELOPED AS A RESULT OF THE BETTER TOOLS AND THE COMPARATIVE EASE OF CARVING AS WELL AS THE ABILITY TO DO THINGS THE OLD TOOLS WERE NOT CAPABLE OF. BUT DESPITE IT ALL THEY DID DO SOME REMARKABLE WORKS OF ART BEFORE STEEL.

[Norman McCormick]

Hi,
Some better photos of the piece in Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum, it is labeled as originating in British Columbia. www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/ to search through the collection although not all items have been photographed.
Regards,
Norman.

[fearn]

Since I am a bit of a fan of PNW art, can I point out how many details are MISSING in Ron's club?

In PNW art, the shape of the parts--eyes particularly, also noses, mouths, ears, etc--are all highly meaningful. For example, the example Norman just posted may well represent an anthropomorphic hawk.

Ron's club has none of these details.

Additionally, that round eye that Ron's club show is alien to what I know of Pacific Northwest traditions. Look at all the beautiful examples already posted, and you will see what I mean.

Best,

F

[Ron Anderson]

Hi Fearn

Yes, this doesn't look too anthromorphic, it is clearly a human head. But there's a fine line, isn't there? It's not far from being the kind of head that could be an anthropomorphic eagle or somesuch.

I don't know what to say about that. I don't know enough that region. Of course, if you look at photo 6 in the last picture poster by Vandoo, I'd argue that's pretty much the same thing - a human head. I have doubt that's an animal or anthropomorphic head.

As for they eye, I don't know, I'll keep looking. Some of those eyes in those picures don't look too far off, though admittedly they're not the same.

Best

Ron

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by fearn

Since I am a bit of a fan of PNW art, can I point out how many details are MISSING in Ron's club?

In PNW art, the shape of the parts--eyes particularly, also noses, mouths, ears, etc--are all highly meaningful. For example, the example Norman just posted may well represent an anthropomorphic hawk.

Ron's club has none of these details.

Additionally, that round eye that Ron's club show is alien to what I know of Pacific Northwest traditions. Look at all the beautiful examples already posted, and you will see what I mean.

Best,

F

Well noted Fearn, at face value I'd tend to agree when viewed side by side with the clear images from elsewhere that are provided but only to a degree based on comparison to the black and white line drawings, they look simpler but you wouldn't find an arguement from me based on your interest in the regions art, I just find these beauties very interesting and not studied myself.

Ron, perhaps if you can provide more detailed, closer and more focused images, parallels in age, stylings and idiosyncrasies of these regions may be more readily identified rather than a broad region approach in ID.

Gav